


It's not about the happy ending, it's about how we got there

by Two_Divided_by_Zero



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Future Fic, Just two dorks being happy together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 23:02:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11861454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Two_Divided_by_Zero/pseuds/Two_Divided_by_Zero
Summary: Life for Yuuki and Akira after high school wasn't all thrills and danger, but that suited them both just fine. Sometimes, a happy middle matters more than a fairytale ending.





	It's not about the happy ending, it's about how we got there

**Author's Note:**

> This story has so much fluff, there was barely any room left for plot!

It was funny how accustomed Akira had become to waking up to the artificial glow of an OLED screen. “Hon…”

There were a few _clickety clacks_ on the keyboard. “...Hmm?”

He groaned before tugging a pillow over his face. “Tell me it's at least after 5 a.m. this time?”

“...It's 5:03.”

The former leader of the Phantom Thieves whined balefully and peeped out from his shadowy sanctuary. “ _Baaaa~aaabe!_ ”

That came out a bit more pitifully than he would've liked, but it was practically the ads crack of dawn and his beautiful boyfriend was not sleeping in like he was supposed to. It was both of their days off and Akira was hoping that Yuuki would actually _sleep in for once._

Speaking of, Yuuki's fingers paused to hover over the keys briefly before another rapid burst of typing. “Just give me 10 more minutes, alright? I just want to look up a therapist nearby for them.”

Grumpy as he was at being awoken far too early on a Saturday, Akira couldn't help but smile softly and squeeze Yuuki's thigh affectionately. “10 minutes or I'm throwing your laptop out the window.”

_Sigh_. “Again?”

Akira sat up enough to kiss his boyfriend sweetly on the cheek. “Again.”

Yuuki turned to nuzzle Akira's cheek with his nose without stopping typing (which would be impressive if it didn't go to show his addiction to computers). “I don't know how I put up with you,” he lilted teasingly.

Akira grinned dopily before snuggling back into his blanket nest. “You asked me out; remember that. These are your life choices.”

“And I don't regret them for a second.”

\---

By the time Yuuki got out of the shower at a much more reasonable time, he entered the kitchen to see his boyfriend scratching at a frying pan on the stove. “What…?”

Without looking up, Akira continued pawing at the pan. “I'm awake, I swear.”

Watching his bleary eyed boyfriend poke and prod at what was presumably breakfast, Yuuki couldn't help but squirm in guilt. “I'm sorry…”

“No apologizing, just…” Akira blinked blearily before sighing, “just help me pick the egg shell out?”

Sure enough, as Yuuki got closer he could see several pieces of shell swimming in a pan of eggs. Akira continued to poke at them, actually growling a little in frustration. It was equal parts cute and pathetic and Yuuki couldn't help but cuddle up to his side.

“You're not helping,” Akira groused.

(It was a guilty pleasure of Yuuki's to see the love of his life bumble around in the mornings, with an emphasis on guilty. Normally so poised and adept, seeing Akira grumble over silly mistakes was absolutely adorable. The only downside was knowing that it was his fault for checking the forums in the morning and waking him up.)

He shooed Akira away - “Go wash your hands before you give us both salmonella!” - and scooped up the remaining bits with relative ease. He dumped them in the trash as Akira started the stove up.

Watching his love at the stove, Yuuki figured it was probably in both of their best interest to start some coffee. While he was nowhere near as talented as Akira and his uncanny knack for perfect blends, he could make a fairly decent cup if he did say so himself.

When they did eventually sit down for breakfast, the first thing Akira did was take a large gulp of coffee. He sighed happily before cuddling the mug go his cheek. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”

Even after all this time, Yuuki's heart did a tiny flip at those words. “Me or the coffee?”

Akira stopped nuzzling his drink long enough to scrunch his eyebrows in displeasure. “I have to pick?”

“‘Fraid so.”

“Hmm,” he hummed dramatically while shifting from turning his mug this way and that and giving his boyfriend elevator eyes. “...You're sure I can't have both?”

“...I'm leaving.”

Akira gasped in faux horror before cradling his drink lovingly. “Did you hear that? Now we can finally be together, my love!”

Yuuki just shook his head and sighed; what else can he do? For a former renowned phantom thief, his boyfriend could be such a goofball. Then again, on the nights he couldn't sleep, he often found himself wondering if the reason Akira had been so meek and mild when they first met was the result if being beaten down unjustly by society.

They really did have a lot in common...

Sitting here, teasing his boyfriend of several years… Yuuki very quietly pinched his thigh beneath the table to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep on his keyboard and dreamed all of this up.

There was a time back in high school he never would be dreamed such a future would be possible. He remembered the terror, the mistrust he felt towards everyone. He remembered meeting the new student - with a criminal record, as Mr. Kamoshida had told him about in great detail - and feeling disgust at himself for dragging someone else down with him.

He remembered those dark days in November…

(Every once in awhile, he still had nightmares that he'd be sitting at the table eating breakfast and the news anchor would make the announcement that even to this day makes his mouth taste like bile. Even worse, _sometimes Akira had them too_ -)

There was suddenly a very insistent finger digging into his cheek and attached to a concerned boyfriend. “Yeff?”

Akira paused momentarily before snorting quietly in laughter. That earned him an unimpressed look. “I wou’int soun’ sou’peh if you woul’ _move yo’ finah_!”

“Hmm? What was that, sweetheart?” Akira actually had the audacity to coo at him, that sneak. Yuuki's face became even more unimpressed, if that was possible, and Akira just laughed that much harder.

Rather than respond, Yuuki cocked an eyebrow. ‘Are you really doing this? How old are you, be honest.’

“Aww, don't look at me like that, sweetheart~! Such a sour look doesn't belong on such a pretty face!” Akira hummed thoughtfully before bringing his other hand up to force Yuuki's face into a pained smile. “There, fixed it!”

“Are you _sure_ you were the leader of the Phantom Thieves? _Really sure_?”

“You didn't recognize me on TV?”

He did, actually. Like it was yesterday, he remembered how the wind seemed to chill his very bones as he stood in the streets with everyone else, neck craned to catch yet another ‘breaking news!’ report. He remembered the way his face _burned_ when the leader of the group stepped forward into the light. Even after the broadcast ended, he was frozen in breathless awe with cheeks far too pink to blame on the cold. **That** was the moment he realized the truth of the saying ‘crushes are terminal’.

“That's an awfully big smile, love. Anything in particular on your mind?”

Yuuki leaned forward to peck Akira on the cheek before smiling softly.

“Nothing in particular.”

\---

While Akira cleaned the dishes (and managed to slop dishwater everywhere, much to his boyfriend's displeasure), Yuuki pulled out his phone and instantly got to typing. “Oh…”

Suds somehow in his hair, Akira walked over to peak at the screen. “What ‘oh’?”

Yuuki frowned before sending a rapid string of texts. “This person's wife tells him one second she wants to renew their vows and the next, she wants a divorce. Even he knows she's emotionally abusive, but he loves her…”

After the Phantom Thieves pulled their last heist, the Phansite became more of a forum for those dealing with emotional issues and looking for support. (“You don't have to be a phantom thief to want to change hearts.”)

Over the years, the phandom had reinvented its image as a support group for all walks of life. Even though listening to people at their lowest moments took an emotional toll on his sweet boyfriend, Akira could not be more proud. He often wished the Yuuki Mishima from his high school volleyball team could meet the strong person he'd become.

He nosed softly at the nape of Yuuki's neck. “What do you think he should do?”

He received a frown in response. “I don't know and that's the problem…” _Sigh._ “Emotional abuse is never black and white.”

Akira wrapped him up in a hug so tight it felt as though he was trying to physically wring the sadness from his voice. “‘Just breathe and have faith that everything will work out for the best.’” 

“... Did you see that in a self-help book?”

Matter-of-factly, “a coffee mug, actually.”

“... I'm going to tell him to hang in there and then finish packing.”

Akira reeled back as though stung. “I thought that was pretty solid advice!”

Yuuki just shot him a deadpan look before sending several rapid messages. (Akira took it back; he was glad past Yuuki would never meet his current self. The universe could hardly handle _one_ sassy Mishima, much less two…)

Rather than risk stuffing his foot any further into his mouth, Akira chose to wrap up any last minute packing that needed to be done. 

As much as he did not want to, Yuuki's laptop was packed with loving care along with its power cord in a case. It wasn't necessarily that he had an issue with his boyfriend's attachment to technology, but rather that their trip was meant to be a vacation. As an independent web designer, Yuuki could never really take a break from work as long as his laptop battery had a charge.

It was with great remorse and a wish that they be allowed to relax that Akira zipped up the bag. 

_Please, if there is a god out there -that is **not** Yaldaboath - let this go without a hitch…_

Suitcases packed and keys in hand, he dragged their luggage to the door. “Ready to go?”

“Can I have a second to say goodbye?”

“Our vacation officially started today, love. We have all the time in the world.”

Yuuki tried his level best to look exasperated, but ultimately the red flush on the tips of his ears and bridge of his nose betrayed his happiness. “... Unless we want to catch the train _today_.”

“Then we have about fifteen minutes.”

In the end, they managed to make it to the train station with plenty of time to spare and only minimal injuries from hurrying with a week's worth of luggage. They shared exhausted but happy grins before flopping into the nearest open seats.

\---

It was already dark by the time the two disembarked at the Yongen-Jaya station, only to discover the escalator was broken. While it took some… _creative_ handling, the two eventually managed to get their suitcases up the stairs and on their way to the hotel.

Café LeBlanc exerted a certain magnetic pull on Akira and it was obviously with great hesitancy that he walked by. A smaller hand wriggled into his own and Akira couldn't help but give his boyfriend a fond look.

Yuuki gave their joined hands a gentle squeeze. “Do they know you're coming?”

The wheelie suitcase he was dragging along chose that exact moment to run into his ankle, prompting a few mumbled curses and an amused snicker from the man next to him.

“ _We’re_ coming, and no, they don't.” Akira hummed.

_Blink._ “Oh, alright… Any particular reason why not?”

“I was thinking we could spend all day tomorrow together and visit your family and the others the next day. Is that alright?”

Beaming, Yuuki flushed a soft pink. “I can't think of a better way to spend Christmas Eve than with you, you know that.”

“Oh,” Akira breathed while cradling the small box in his pocket tenderly, “I wouldn't be so sure about that…”

“Hmm?”

“I said ‘I love you.’”

“You did not,” Yuuki grumbled half-heartedly as he cuddled closer and his face turned a splotchy red, “but I love you, too.”

And really, that's all that really mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written partially as an excuse to write something happy and ENTIRELY for all the wonderful Shuyuu fans I have recently met! How is it possible for one pairing to have such a wonderful, positive fan base? <3
> 
> This was such a departure from my usual tone ^^" I hope you all still enjoyed it#
> 
> Next chapter of my other fic is mostly written as well! o7 Keep your eyes open for it (and the chance to request a one-shot of your choice ;D)


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